Burial-receptacle.



M. P. & L. E. LITTLE. BURIAL REGEPTAGLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, 1913.

Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MINNIE PEARL LITTLE AND LUAR EDNA LITTLE, OF COLUMBIA, MISSOURI.

BURIAL-RECEPTACLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3, 19114.

Application filed March 20, 1913. Serial No. 755590.

To all whom itmay concern I Be it known that we, MINNIE PEARL LIT- T115and LUAR EDNA LITTLE, citizens of the United States, residing atColumbia, in the county of Boone and State of Missouri, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Burial-Receptacles, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in burial receptacles orcaskets and has for its object the provision of a construction composedof cementitious'or similar plastic material having in its wallsreinforcing means in the form of a core, which reinforcing meansconsists of sections of expanded metal secured together by means ofyieldable interlocking ring members facilitating the assembling orshaping of the casket prior to the application of the plastic material,as well as permitting relative contraction of the walls as the materialdries or hardens.

For a full understanding of the present invention, reference is to behad to the following description and the accompanying drawings, inwhich,

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a casket constructed in accordancewith our invention and having a portion broken away to show more clearlythe details of the reinforcing means. Fig. 2 is an end view of thereceptacle showing the top interlocked with the body. Fig. 3 is atransverse sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is afragmentary sectional View taken about on the line 14 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.Fig. 6 is a plan .view of an end portion of the casket. Fig. 7 is adetail View showing more clearly the manner of con necting. thereinforcing members by the interlockin ring members at the cornerportions of t e casket.

Throughout the following detail description and on the several figuresof the drawreinforcing means which consists preferably of expandedmetal, designated by the 'numeral 3.

It isto be understood that the shape of the casket is determined by theconnection of the several pieces of expanded metal 3, these pieces beingarranged in the usual rectangular form and connected at theircornerportions by means of interlocking ring members 4 best seen in Fig. 7 ofthe drawing. The rlng members are clamped in position to secure therespective sides of the core together by means of any ordinary toolwhich will serve to bend the wire around the openings in the metal, asshown. It is apparent that since the ring members 4 consist of open-ings clamped around the sections 3 at their end portions each wall ofthe casket is allowed to contract independently of its connecting wall.That is to say, Whenthe plastic material of one wall contracts more orless than its contiguous wall the ring members will yieldto permit therelative movements and this we have found to be very advantageous indevices of this nature. To further strengthen the construction, a pairof heavy wires 5 is secured to the top of the body 1 by interlacing saidwires through the openings in the metal and a second pair of heavy wiresis likewise connected to the reinforcing means formed in the top 2 atits edge portions.

Preliminary to the molding of the plastic material the side handles 7and end handles 8 are secured in position in the manner now to bedescribed. A wooden or metallic block or anchor 9, best shown in Fig.5,'is placed .on the inner side of the reinforcing metal 3,

and the handle supports 10 are secured thereto in any desired mannerthrough said metal 3, so as to protrude a suitable distance beyond theouter surface of the body or top,

. as the case may be, and the handle or bail 7 of the usual form thenpivotally mounted in said supports. Since considerable strain is placedupon a casket of this nature in lifting it by the handles, we preferablypass a pair of heavy Wires 12 transversely around the body of the casketon the outer side of the metal 3 and adjacent the side handles 7, saidwires being connected with the longitudinal wires 5 at each side'of thebody 1. It will be apparent from the foregoing that a very rigid handleconstruction is thus aflorded,

preventing likelihood of the handle supports being accidentallywithdrawn from the casket when weight is placed thereupon.

The top 2 is connected to the bottom 1 in the usual manner by the tongueand groove mnstruction as shown most clearly in Figs. .1. and -lof thedrawings, and it is desirable that meansfor locking the top in positionupon the bottom be employed. We have, therefore, provided a novelinterlocking l'orm of handle member which performs a dual function inthat it serves to connect the top 2 with the body 1 as well asconstituting handle means both when thus engaged or when disengaged topermit the removal of the top. Specifically describing the same wepreferably provide an angularly shaped bail member 13 which is pivotallymounted in a pair of supports 14 protruding from the top 2, there beingone of said handles at each end of the casket. Each bail or handle 13 ist' 'rmed at its bent portion with.- lateral pro--' jections 13' whichform the pivots to engage with the supports 11, as above described, andthe body engaging portion 13 of the bail member 13 engages over arotatable stud 1.3 anchored in the body 1 in a similar manner to'thatdescribed with reference to the handle supports 10. Thus to positivelylock the top 2 to the body 1, the rotatable stud 15 is turned so thatthe lateral projections 15' of the same extends downwardly over the bodyengaging portion 13 of the bail 13, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The upperor grip portion of the bail, designated by the numeral 15 is bent atright angles to the body engaging portion 13, so as to extendhorizontally, as shown in Fig. 1, and this grip portion 13 then acts asa handle for carrying the casket in its closed condition. To

remove the top from the body 1, the studs 15' are rotated and the bodyengaging portion 3 disengaged therefrom, the bail 13 being raised intothe dotted-line position shown in Fig. 1, so that the grip portion l3abuts against the top limiting the pivotal movement of this member, whenthe body engaging portion 13 becomes the handle by means of which thetop may be removed.

\Vhat we claim'as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: p r 1.A burial receptacle comprising a top and body, and composed of plasticmaterial having reinforcing means embedded in its walls, said meansconsisting of a plurality of sections of expanded metal, interlockingmeans for securing said sections together consisting of open ringmembers clamped through the interstices of said metal, and handles forsaid receptacle positively connected with the reinforcing means.

2. A burial casket formed of plastic material and having reinforcingmeans in its walls, handles for said receptacles including handlesupports extending into the walls, anchor blocks disposed at one side ofthe reinforcing means with which the handle supports are connectedthrough the said reinforcing means, and yieldable interlocking membersconnecting the sections whereby to permit of relative contraction of thewalls vof the casket with respect to each other.

3. A burial receptacle formed of plastic material and havlng reinforcingmeans in its walls, said means comprising sections of expanded metal,connecting members connecting said sections together, longitudinal wiremembers connected with the expanded metal, handles for the receptacleincluding handle supports extending through the reinforcing metal,anchor blocks disposed on the inner side of said metal with Which saidhandle supports are connected, and transversely ara the opposite'side ofthe metal to the anchor blocks.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

MINNIE PEARL LITTLE. LUAR EDNA LITTLE. Witnesses:

J. E. JORDAN, A. B. WAYLAND.

